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The Southwestern Historical Quarterly

ness like and looked busier than Cincinti but is not as pleasantto the eye, everything is dearer here than at Cincinnatti. I wassorry I did not have time to visit the locks as I was told theywere very fine pieces of work. We left at 9 o'clock on the SteamerBaltic a large boat having 8 boilers-the Dayton which we lefthad only 2. We passed over the falls, it was quite exciting altho'if one did not know the danger one would hardly notice the dif-ference as it was high water, the waters appeared to come togetherin a ridge in the center of the stream, but I could see by theanxiety of the Captain and Pilots and the perfect stillness thatthe least miss movement would be dangerous. We stopped at vari-ous places taking in tobacco etc. passed some handsome planta-tions most of them liable to overflow. passed mouth of Wabashriver and Island, Shawneetown. Just -as we came in sight of Co-lumbus a fire broke out on the hurricane deck. I happened tobe there. (I was always on the highest places where I could geta good view) the fire broke out under a coop of fowls another manand myself endeavored to turn the coop over but could not thefire rushed up 6 or 8 feet high and not knowing where it had orig-inated there was great excitement. I gave the first alarm andremained working on deck until they got up the hands with aline of buckets when I went below and got my trunks where Icould get hold of them handily and then went back again, the firewas soon got under control, but such a hubbub as there was bythe time I got down again I never saw before, women and menrunning some screaming some hauling their trunks and placing[them] on the guards ready to throw over board while others weregathering their children together. and there was reason foralarm, we were three miles from shore and if the fire had notbeen discovered as it was it might have proved a serious matteras the wind was blowing quite hard.We stopped at a place to wood and I went quite a distance intoIndiana, and I could hardly realize that I was walking in thatState in so short a time. We soon afterwards stopped at a smallplace in Kentucky, McCracken Co., to take on tobacco severalof us went ashore and took a hunt and tramp around for severalhours. I found a gentleman on board from Louisville, Ky. hehad about a dozen slaves that he was taking to his father in Ten-nessee and from there he said he was going to, Texas and would